Anteater

Sweden have been at the forefront of progressive rock output for a long while now, though like most things the assertion is debateable.

jacklovezhimself: Hipster or not, welcome to the Anthill. Enjoy Lucifer's Friend and check out whatever else you find interesting!

Today's obscure album may not be prog., but its an unusual beast to be sure...with extra funk included.



For anyone who remembers (or has ever read) my old Screaming Headless Torsos review, I raved a bit on how David Fiuczynski, known in musical circles by the moniker "Fuze", can play guitar like a mother****er. His style, to put it generically, is very distinctive regardless of the project he plays on; haphazard and textural, yet at the same time he has the capability to shred with the best of 'em on a whim. You never really know where he'll take his sound from one second to the next, and as a result Fuze possesses an unusual charisma in a time when technical proficiency seems to have devoured the original goal of many great guitarists: to be unique.

But enough about him and more about the record in question that he's involved with. This particular project, the album Black Cherry Acid Lab, makes full use of Fiuczynski's unique style, along with his good friend Dean Bowman (Screaming Headless Torsos's vocalist) and hence results in lots of punk-jazz antics crammed with funk and rythm up the wazoo. But guess what? It also has a certain infamous voice-actor providing his talents as a rapper to go with an already lethal musical duo, a man by the name of Ahmed Best.

But who is Ahmed Best you peeps may ask? The pic. below should explain everything:



Yes, its the truth. We have Jar Jar Binks rapping like a crazy mofo' here on Black Cherry Acid Lab. And BOYYYYY is he on the game here, adding an unusual element to an already unpredictable funk album with some interesting results. His performance here, in fact, makes this one of the most diverse and interesting albums to come out at ANY point in time, much less the 21st century. Rap+funk+punk+jazz+hard rock has never sounded so fun!!

Describing the tracks one by one is no easy task, partly because the songs themselves sometimes change randomly, veering off in odd designs that somehow seem crazy, yet held together by Fuze's playing like some variant of sonic superglue that prevents the building's foundations from caving in. Another plus, the instrumentation, is intracite to say the least; simply put, its heavily bass, guitar and sax driven with heavy drumming and the occasional turntable for good measure. Very danceable material in some ways, which is always nice once in a while.

So, for those who love jazz and fusion, this album will please you. To those who love their jazz fusion with rap and a sense of humour, you'll love it even more. And to the folks who take in avant-garde like gatorade at football practice, you'll probably enjoy this album most of all because its both inviting and challenging to the mind and ear the way a great album needs to be.

I suppose if Mr. Bungle had been just a mite jazzier and were still around today, this is how it would have been. Three thumbs way way way up for this classic in the making!!

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